yoga for weight loss

The most prominent reason for people doing yoga nowadays is weight loss, besides stress relief. Conventional exercises often get repetitive and boring. They also get less effective with time. Thus, people start to lose interest and look around for alternative options. That is when people start to ask “Will yoga help me lose weight?”  And the answer is obviously yes. Thousands of people turn to yoga for weight loss every week. There is enough variety in yoga to design and tailor regimes for people without making it monotonous. Moreover, besides the physical benefits of yoga, there are many mental, emotional, and spiritual benefits too. But the best thing is that it is one of the most wholesome and holistic ways to lose weight. Also, you can do yoga to lose weight without needing any crash diets, intense workouts, or supplements.

Ways In Which Yoga Helps With Weight Loss

Most people make the mistake of thinking that yoga weight loss results are due to the associated physical exertion only. But, this is not true at all. Yoga helps you connect with your body in a novel way and attack the extra weight in three different ways. These are as follows:

  • Physical – This is the most evident and straightforward. Different asanas target different parts of the body and help to burn fat in that area. You can perform yoga to lose fat in a specific body part, like yoga for reducing belly fat. Otherwise, you can do asanas for weight loss in the entire body, like yoga for obesity. You can customize the session according to your needs and limitations.
  • Psychological – Eating disorders can be the primary reason for your weight gain. Moreover, you may stress eat in anxiety or for stimulation in depression. There are many mental health issues that can cause you to binge-eat. Besides fat-burning yoga, yogic techniques for dealing with mental health, insecurity, and self-image issues help deal with damaging eating habits. This thus causes you to control your caloric admission and control weight gain.  
  • Detoxification – Another beneficial effect of yoga poses is the normalization of metabolism and equilibration of the chemical balance of the body. Toxic substances can throw the body out of balance and thus, result in weight accumulation. Asanas, kriyas, mudras, pranayama, and many other techniques help cast out toxins from the body. This helps the body function in a normal, healthy manner and help in weight loss.

Best Yoga Styles To Lose Weight

You can follow any style of yoga to reduce weight and get fit. However, different yoga styles have different levels of vigorous activity. The yoga styles that are most fast-paced or intense are the best yoga for weight loss. These include:

  • Vinyasa Yoga – Vinyasa yoga or flow yoga requires constant flowing movement from pose to pose, breath to breath. It creates heat in the centre of the body through the progression of prana. This helps burn fat and lose weight in your body. 
  • Ashtanga Yoga – This is an intense form of yoga with the difficulty level of poses increasing as you progress through the stages. Hence, Ashtanga yoga is only for those with great patience, resilience, and tenacity. However, it likewise incredible for weight reduction and support.  
  • Power Yoga – Power yoga is a modified and integrated version of vinyasa yoga. The ultimate purpose of developing it was to create a repurposed yoga style to help specifically with weight loss. Power yoga is highly active and movement-based.
  • Bikram Yoga – Bikram yoga, and its variation Hot Yoga, entails performing yoga in a 40°C room. This helps fire up the body and draw sweat even more. It is one of the best styles of yoga for fat loss

Yoga Asanas For Weight Loss

While yoga as a whole helps you lose weight, there are some asanas for weight loss that are especially effective. They work one body part, more than one area, or the entire body. Some of these are in the list below:

  • Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutation) 
  • Virabhadrasana (Warrior Pose)
  • Adho/Urdhwa Mukha Svanasana (Downward/Upward Dog Pose)
  • Trikonasana (Triangle Pose)
  • Utthita Parsvakonasana (Extended Sides Angle Pose)
  • Chaturangadandasana (Four-Limbed Staff Pose/Low Plank)
  • Phalakasana (Plank Pose)
  • Dhanurasana (Bow pose)
  • Paripurna Navasana (Boat Pose)
  • Sethu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose)
  • Chaturangadandasana (Plank Pose)
  • Purvottanasana (Upward Plank Pose)
  • Paschimottanasana  (Seated Forward Bend)
  • Trikonasana (Triangle Pose)
  • Sarvangasana (Shoulder Stand)
  • Utkatasana (Chair Pose)
  • Parivrtta Utkatasana (Twisted Chair Pose)
  • Padahastasana (Standing Forward Bend)
  • Pavanamukthasana (Wind-Relieving Pose)

Many of these are asanas for weight loss yoga for beginners. Whereas some other poses are more advanced, difficult, and tricky. So, one should not attempt them without the guidance of their teacher and ample practice. If a pose does not come immediately to you, you can always use support for the time being. Besides doing yoga exercises for weight loss, one must also be mindful of their diet and their own mental state. Only with a balanced combination of these three can one achieve the weight they have aimed for. 

Conclusion

If you have been struggling with your weight, yoga can be your best friend. Yoga and weight reduction return far. The best way to approach the issue is to be aware of your immediate weight loss goals with yoga. At the same time, you should think of your long-term goals of staying at a healthy weight and resolving the true problem. At Ilina Yoga, every yoga class caters to such specific needs of students. Our successful yoga weight loss stories are truly inspiring and motivating.